Review

The popular game Backgammon involves a tactical race around the board between 2 players. A simple tap control method is used throughout this Backgammon app, compared to other apps that require a drag and drop motion. Users have the choice to either play against the iPad or use the ‘Pass & Play’ feature. The board is neatly displayed and the theme can be changed to enhance contrast between checkers and the background. Players are provided with automatic hints indicating areas where a checker can be moved to throughout the game as well as flashing checkers which also serve as prompts for inactivity. Although the app does not allow players to undo their moves if they have made a mistake, there is no time pressure to complete the game. Players are able to choose between three difficulty levels as well as the match score and checker colour.

Adverts are present when starting or exiting and resuming a game in the free version, and cannot be easily dismissed. For this reason, recommend purchasing the in-app upgrade to remove all adverts. A limitation of the app is the inability to change the speed of any computer animations, however, these were found to be of moderate speed and thus should not cause any problems.

Due to the potentially complex nature of Backgammon, we would recommend that users have some prior knowledge of the rules and how to play. The free version does not contain any additional rules to the original game and allows use of the ‘doubling cube’.

Tip: In-App Purchases do require a password before completion, but they can be completely restricted on your device, if preferred. For information on how to do this for the Apple iPad, read our step-by-step guide. For information on how to do this for the Android tablet, click here.

Recommended Settings

Access the settings by tapping on the wheel icon on the upper right corner. These are our recommended settings (in bold):

• Sound (on/off, or user preference)

• Board Theme (user preference)

• Background Colour (user preference)

When the user selects ‘new game’ further settings options are displayed. We recommend:

• Players (user preference)

• Chip Colour (black/white)

• Match Score (1/3/5/7/11/15)

Then select Play to start the game.